This invention relates to inflatable watercraft and more particularly, although not exclusively, to such watercraft having wave deflectors associated therewith.
Existing inflatable watercraft, including towable craft, typically include one or more inflatable tubes to which a base or bottom is secured. Often made of PVC, the tubes and base may be connected via radio-frequency welding or any other suitable attachment method. The portion of the base between the tubes, described herein as the xe2x80x9ccockpit space,xe2x80x9d defines the area in which humans may stand, kneel, or sit and be supported above the waterline.
Conventionally, the overall height of the inflatable watercraft is merely the height of its tubes. Because the tubes usually are substantially smaller than the height of a person, even when the person is sitting in the craft, his or her body may have a portion exposed to the elements and thus subjected to unwanted contact with wind, water, or debris as the craft moves through the water. Increasing the height of the tubes is rarely commercially practical, however, as doing so necessarily increases their diameter, in turn undesirably increasing the overall length and width of the craft. Maintaining the same craft length and width while increasing the height of the tubes, alternatively, will decrease the cockpit space, yet another undesirable result.
The present invention avoids this problem by providing a separate windshield or similar device for deflecting wind, water, and debris. Such a deflector, which may be attached to the upper surface of the tubes of an inflatable watercraft, likewise may be inflatable using one or more valves and made of material such as (but not necessarily) PVC. It thus may be used to increase the height of the craft without changing the dimensions of its tubes or diminishing the available cockpit space associated therewith.
In some embodiments of the deflector of the invention, internal horizontal or vertical I-beams may be used to enhance its strength and rigidity. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other strength-enhancing techniques may be employed, however, as appropriate or desired. Likewise, the deflector may be attached to the tubes of the craft in any suitable manner, including (but not limited to) being tied or fastened thereto. Typically, however, the deflector may be removable from the tubes for transport to or from a body of water or for storage.
Deflectors of the present invention may themselves consist of tubes and be configured similar to the tubes of the crafts with which they correspond. Equally likely, however, they may be semi-circular or -elliptical and have varying height, resembling backrests and integral arms of certain contoured chairs. In these latter configurations, the deflectors have their greatest height at the front (and perhaps the rear as well) of the crafts, with their minimum height along the sides thereof. As so configured, they not only may shield persons within the crafts from wind, water, and debris, but also permit them to see outside the crafts along the sides.
It thus is an object of the present invention to increase the effective heights of inflatable devices such as watercraft.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide inflatable devices whose heights can be increased without increasing the size of the tubes from which they are formed.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide inflatable devices having a separate windshield or deflector adapted to be attached to the upper surfaces of the tubes of a watercraft.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide deflectors for inflatable craft whose heights vary along their lengths, with the maximum heights being at or near at least the front of the craft.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the remainder of the text and the drawings of this application.